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I recently had the pleasure of chatting with Ali Campbell, the distinctive longtime vocalist for pop-reggae band UB40. Although best known for their successful string of covers albums (the Labour of Love series) or their contributions to an array of film soundtracks, the band, originally from Birmingham, England, has been at it for 35 years, having released their stellar debut album, Signing Off, in 1980.
Selling over 70 million albums worldwide, UB40 has achieved popularity all around the globe and has been a strong purveyor of spreading positive reggae vibes for decades. Campbell, who left the fold in 2008, is back after an acrimonious splinter that found other band members touring and releasing records with their own incarnation of the band under the UB40 handle. With former founding members Astro and Mickey Virtue back in the mix, Campbell, 59, and his mates aim to reestablish the reputation and the presence he so carefully honed for so long. On tour in America for the first time in a decade and supporting a new album, Silhouette, Ali found time to share his wit and humor while answering some questions for me.
CL: So how's the tour going? And what prompted your return to UB40?
Ali Cambell: It's great! It's our first time in America in ten years. We're playing some smaller shows and we're eleven shows into the tour. We wanted to undo the damage of the dark side [referring to the other version of UB40 that has been touring the world of late]. A lot of people were unclear that they weren't going to see the original lineup of UB40 until they got to the show and saw a different lead singer. It was like going to see the Rolling Stones only to find that "Derek Jagger" was singing for them.
How has that affected your version of the band?
Well, the "dark side" has released albums under the name UB40...they even released a country album. They don't even understand country music! It's been a real slap in the face. For Astro, the final straw was problems with the business manager. But we're back with a younger, regenerated UB40 and I think it's the best reggae band ever.
So you're back with UB40 with a new album after a long time away. What can longtime fans expect from Silhouette, your latest release?
There's no country music on it! (laughs). It sounds like UB40. We picked up where we left off. It's our 30th album. There's seven covers and seven originals on it.
Speaking of covers, you're known for putting your own spin on a lot of other people's music. You've recorded songs originally by Randy Newman, Billie Holiday, Neil Diamond and your new album includes a Beatles cover and a Bob Dylan cover. How do you decide which artists or songs to cover?
Yeah, and the new album has a Chi-Lites cover. We did their song " Yes I'm Ready" which was the b-side of their hit "Oh Girl". We just really like to play the songs we grew up with. Doing these songs really is a labour of love for us. Our very first album was going to be an all-covers record but we got talked out of it. We've had great success doing the Labour of Love albums. The first one sold 8 million copies, Labour of Love II sold 7 million and Labour of Love III sold 6 million.
So you're released several solo albums since leaving the band and now you're back; how does the process differ from recording with a whole band as opposed to as a solo artist?
Oh its really the same. It's not really different. But live, it makes a huge difference.
Speaking of playing live, how has the audience reaction been to the shows after being away so long?
They've been totally hysterical. We're loving it. We'll be playing arenas in the UK next April. After becoming enormous around the world, we wanted some sort of conclusion. Astro sees it as a sigh of relief.
So is this more of a sit down show? Or have audiences been dancing and getting into the music during this run of shows? What can fans expect when the tour makes it to St. Petersburg's Mahaffey Theater?
We like for people to get amongst it. We don't ask people to stand up...we don't say "C'mon! Get up!" but everyone gets up and dances. You should be able to do what you want to do...and smoke at a reggae show.
What's your opinion of the current state of reggae music? Do you feel like it's still appreciated?
Our goal was always to bring reggae music to a wider audience who might not have been familiar with it. We wanted to promote reggae and dub but we had a problem with radio: black radio and white radio didn't know where to put us. It's taken a while for some people to appreciate reggae. I think someone like Snoop Dogg or Snoop Lion has done a lot to let more black people know about reggae music. And there's so much contemporary music that's influenced by reggae music. You hear that Sly Dunbar beat (breaks into spontaneous booming sound) and those Bogle beats everywhere. J.Lo just had a #1 hit that was influenced by it. And there are some new reggae artists that are really exciting. Look at Raging Fyah or Chronixx. After so much gangsta reggae and all this bravado, it's nice to hear young kids releasing music with conscious lyrics.
Chrissie Hynde helped your band out tremendously in the early days and she hand-picked UB40 to open for The Pretenders early on. You had a huge hit with a cover of Sonny and Cher's "I Got You Babe" as a duet with Hynde. Is there anyone else, past or present, you'd like to sing with?
Auntie Chrissie! That's what I call her. I've done so many duets...but we're talking about doing a new acoustic version of "I Got You Babe" with Joss Stone. She's a great singer.
So what's a typical day off from the tour like for you?
We have big buses on this tour...state of the art buses. They're usually parked outside and we go there and watch movies, drink, smoke...
Your voice still sounds really strong. Do you do anything to warm up or prepare before a show?
No not really...I've been told that I've never had vocal polyps because because I sing through my diaphragm..and through my nose! (laughs)
So what's the future of UB40?
We're planning on releasing a live album and recording some acoustic sessions. We'll be touring more. We want to release more albums. We'd love to do a "Red Red Winery" tour...through Australia, France, Germany..all over the world. It would be great to put on a Las Vegas reggae revue..be the resident reggae band of Las Vegas!
Since it's so close to Halloween, I have to ask, are there any Halloween traditions or Halloween songs you particularly enjoy?
It's not really big in England...but I like to take my kids trick or treating although they're 14 and 15 years old now. I like to make sure people aren't poisoning them!
Clik here to view.
I recently had the pleasure of chatting with Ali Campbell, the distinctive longtime vocalist for pop-reggae band UB40. Although best known for their successful string of covers albums (the Labour of Love series) or their contributions to an array of film soundtracks, the band, originally from Birmingham, England, has been at it for 35 years, having released their stellar debut album, Signing Off, in 1980.
Selling over 70 million albums worldwide, UB40 has achieved popularity all around the globe and has been a strong purveyor of spreading positive reggae vibes for decades. Campbell, who left the fold in 2008, is back after an acrimonious splinter that found other band members touring and releasing records with their own incarnation of the band under the UB40 handle. With former founding members Astro and Mickey Virtue back in the mix, Campbell, 59, and his mates aim to reestablish the reputation and the presence he so carefully honed for so long. On tour in America for the first time in a decade and supporting a new album, Silhouette, Ali found time to share his wit and humor while answering some questions for me.
UB40 featuring Ali Campbell, Astro and Mickey Virtue appear at the Mahaffey Theater in St. Petersburg on Friday, October 23, 8 p.m.; tickets are $42.50, $55.50 and $175.00 for VIP tickets . Click here for more info.
CL: So how's the tour going? And what prompted your return to UB40?
Ali Cambell: It's great! It's our first time in America in ten years. We're playing some smaller shows and we're eleven shows into the tour. We wanted to undo the damage of the dark side [referring to the other version of UB40 that has been touring the world of late]. A lot of people were unclear that they weren't going to see the original lineup of UB40 until they got to the show and saw a different lead singer. It was like going to see the Rolling Stones only to find that "Derek Jagger" was singing for them.
How has that affected your version of the band?
Well, the "dark side" has released albums under the name UB40...they even released a country album. They don't even understand country music! It's been a real slap in the face. For Astro, the final straw was problems with the business manager. But we're back with a younger, regenerated UB40 and I think it's the best reggae band ever.
So you're back with UB40 with a new album after a long time away. What can longtime fans expect from Silhouette, your latest release?
There's no country music on it! (laughs). It sounds like UB40. We picked up where we left off. It's our 30th album. There's seven covers and seven originals on it.
Speaking of covers, you're known for putting your own spin on a lot of other people's music. You've recorded songs originally by Randy Newman, Billie Holiday, Neil Diamond and your new album includes a Beatles cover and a Bob Dylan cover. How do you decide which artists or songs to cover?
Yeah, and the new album has a Chi-Lites cover. We did their song " Yes I'm Ready" which was the b-side of their hit "Oh Girl". We just really like to play the songs we grew up with. Doing these songs really is a labour of love for us. Our very first album was going to be an all-covers record but we got talked out of it. We've had great success doing the Labour of Love albums. The first one sold 8 million copies, Labour of Love II sold 7 million and Labour of Love III sold 6 million.
So you're released several solo albums since leaving the band and now you're back; how does the process differ from recording with a whole band as opposed to as a solo artist?
Oh its really the same. It's not really different. But live, it makes a huge difference.
Speaking of playing live, how has the audience reaction been to the shows after being away so long?
They've been totally hysterical. We're loving it. We'll be playing arenas in the UK next April. After becoming enormous around the world, we wanted some sort of conclusion. Astro sees it as a sigh of relief.
So is this more of a sit down show? Or have audiences been dancing and getting into the music during this run of shows? What can fans expect when the tour makes it to St. Petersburg's Mahaffey Theater?
We like for people to get amongst it. We don't ask people to stand up...we don't say "C'mon! Get up!" but everyone gets up and dances. You should be able to do what you want to do...and smoke at a reggae show.
What's your opinion of the current state of reggae music? Do you feel like it's still appreciated?
Our goal was always to bring reggae music to a wider audience who might not have been familiar with it. We wanted to promote reggae and dub but we had a problem with radio: black radio and white radio didn't know where to put us. It's taken a while for some people to appreciate reggae. I think someone like Snoop Dogg or Snoop Lion has done a lot to let more black people know about reggae music. And there's so much contemporary music that's influenced by reggae music. You hear that Sly Dunbar beat (breaks into spontaneous booming sound) and those Bogle beats everywhere. J.Lo just had a #1 hit that was influenced by it. And there are some new reggae artists that are really exciting. Look at Raging Fyah or Chronixx. After so much gangsta reggae and all this bravado, it's nice to hear young kids releasing music with conscious lyrics.
Chrissie Hynde helped your band out tremendously in the early days and she hand-picked UB40 to open for The Pretenders early on. You had a huge hit with a cover of Sonny and Cher's "I Got You Babe" as a duet with Hynde. Is there anyone else, past or present, you'd like to sing with?
Auntie Chrissie! That's what I call her. I've done so many duets...but we're talking about doing a new acoustic version of "I Got You Babe" with Joss Stone. She's a great singer.
So what's a typical day off from the tour like for you?
We have big buses on this tour...state of the art buses. They're usually parked outside and we go there and watch movies, drink, smoke...
Your voice still sounds really strong. Do you do anything to warm up or prepare before a show?
No not really...I've been told that I've never had vocal polyps because because I sing through my diaphragm..and through my nose! (laughs)
So what's the future of UB40?
We're planning on releasing a live album and recording some acoustic sessions. We'll be touring more. We want to release more albums. We'd love to do a "Red Red Winery" tour...through Australia, France, Germany..all over the world. It would be great to put on a Las Vegas reggae revue..be the resident reggae band of Las Vegas!
Since it's so close to Halloween, I have to ask, are there any Halloween traditions or Halloween songs you particularly enjoy?
It's not really big in England...but I like to take my kids trick or treating although they're 14 and 15 years old now. I like to make sure people aren't poisoning them!